To celebrate the importance of access to specific location information, I’d like to propose a new challenge dedicated to Categories.
Here’s how you can take part.
The challenge:
Find a location that has vague categories listed & update the categories to be more specific using the Suggest an edit feature.
For example, if you search for restaurants & find one categorized only as Restaurant, but you know a specific style of food is served there, suggest an edit to the category that specifies the type of restaurant. If you search for places of worship & find one categorized as Church or Christian Church, but you know it is not “nondenominational”, suggest an edit that specifies the name of the denomination of members who meet there. Some categories are almost guaranteed to be accepted by Google because it is obvious that the more specific category you suggest is the correct category - for example, if the more specific category is included in the name of the location.
Here’s a 40-second tutorial video that shows how: https://youtube.com/shorts/SdLFl56e0xY
You can participate with edit suggestions that have been added on Google Maps until August 31.
Share a screenshot of the approved edit with details open showing the change in the comments below by August 31. Feel free to also include a link in your comment to the location that had the Category update.
The criteria:
Your contribution should follow the Community policy and the Maps user-generated content policy. The Edit suggestion must be for a Category; must be accepted by Google as made evident in a screenshot; and must be, by my judgement, for a more specific category (Unfortunately Google does not have any guidelines for what counts as more specific, so I’ll have to rely on dictionary definitions of words used for Categories) in order to qualify. (Time until a suggestion is accepted varies, but depending on your level often takes within 48 hours.)
The winners:
Everyone whose edit suggestion/s is/are accepted & follows the challenge instructions & criteria above I will personally send a small token of appreciation as well as present with an E-certificate of Appreciation; & each approved edit will be entered into a draw for an Amazon gift card valued at CAD $100 (equivalent to around ₹6,387 or USD $70 as of September 2025.) (More approved edits mean more entries.)
The results for this challenge will be announced in a new post.
More specific location Categories mean richer data, better maps, & a stronger community - Let’s come together to make Google Maps even better. Join the PerfeCategory movement!
Join this challenge by August 1. Share your Google Maps location Category update in the comments below for a chance to win!
Edit: Extended the deadline by 30 days.
Edit: Updated the draw prize - Amazon gift card worth CAD $100.
Certificate of Appreciation
A Certificate of Appreciation for the Local Guides who contributed toward building the community & making categories more specific by participating in this challenge is attached herewith.
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